women and the political process
Q:What do you understand by feminism? Describe the rise and development of the feminist movement.
Feminism is an important ideology and movement of the modern era. Since ancient times, women have been treated with discrimination in various fields. Due to this discriminatory treatment, women have been largely unable to play their role in the society. Since the beginning, the society has been male-dominated in which women were considered as slaves and were denied equal rights to men. The area of women was confined to the four walls of the house. She was only entrusted with the work of serving men, doing household chores, giving birth to children and taking care of them. Many religious texts have also supported women to be subservient to men and work under their direction. Women have often been misbehaved by men, which can be seen even today. This condition of women is found not only in backward countries but also in developed countries, where they are not given the social status of men. Although today in almost all the countries of the world, women have been given equal rights as men by the constitution and law; But in practice even today they are not equal partners in the decision making process and most of the decisions regarding them are taken by men only. Although women are still being discriminated against, but today they have awakened and they have organized themselves and started fighting to get equal rights and equality with men. The movement launched by women for the protection of their interests has been named Feminism.
Origin of Feminism: Origin of the word Feminism EnglishThe word of the language is derived from Female. Female means woman or related to women. Therefore, feminism is such a movement which is concerned with protecting the interests of women. Definitions of Feminism Different scholars have defined feminism from their own perspectives. Some of the different definitions are as follows
According to the Oxford Dictionary, feminism is the recognition of women's rights, their achievements and advocacy of rights. , - Famous sociologist Mary Evous has written that feminism is a critical evaluation of the present and past status of women. It is a challenge to the values related to women that are presented to women by others. In the words of Charlotte Bunch, feminism refers to a range of theories and movements that oppose male supremacy and criticize the subordination of women to men. Which is committed to ending gender-based discrimination.
According to John Charvet, the basic principle of feminism is that there is no difference between men and women from the side of fundamental ability. There are no male beings or female beings in this aspect, rather they are human beings. Man's femininity and importance are independent of gender. According to the encyclopedia Britannica, feminism is a concept that originated only a short time ago. This concept represents the objectives and ideas that are related to the movements run in favor of women's rights. It includes the personal, social, political and economic aspects of the movement and aims at bringing women to a level of complete equality with men.
Comparative governance and politics were adopted along with suffrage, but women in France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal and Spain had to wait until World War II to gain the right to vote. All these countries were completely under the influence of Roman Catholics. / Literally women in the name of Christianity and IslamThere was a lot of opposition to suffrage.
After the Second World War, the principle of democratic suffrage (suffrage to all adult men and women) was adopted by almost every European country. Countries like Switzerland were exceptions to this, where in 1970 AD. Women were denied the right to vote till then. Another fact is that even after providing suffrage to women, some countries continue to adopt the notion of expected political disqualification of women. For example, women in New Zealand Suffrage 1893 AD Granted in , but he had the right to be elected as a representative in 1919 AD . Provided by the Women Parliamentary Rights Act. Finland was the first state to give women both rights (suffrage and the right to be elected as representatives) in 1906 AD. Provided in Human rights movement after World War II So strong was it that the principle of adult franchise (equal political rights for both men and women) was accepted in India and many other countries almost without any protest and controversy.
Today, adult franchise has been adopted in almost all the democratic countries of the world. women to menSimilarly, the right to be elected as a representative is also available. In practice, the participation of women and their role in elections is continuously increasing, but their representation in elected representative bodies and their influence on the political process as a whole is very low. It has been told in a survey that in the parliaments (legislative assemblies) of various countries, women have only 15.1 percent representation (6,069 seats out of 40, 304) and in the council of ministers, they have got only 6 percent seats in total. Is .
Women's political participation in this definition does not only include women voting, being elected as representatives, supporting political communities and establishing contacts with legislators, but political participation can include all those organized activities that Influences or tries to influence power relations. Active support, protest or demonstration of the ruling class is also a part of political participation. In relation to how much participation of women should be in the political process for a meaningful role, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 1990 AD.
It has suggested that the participation of women in decision-making structures should be at least 30 per cent. After this in 1995 AD. Concern has also been expressed that the target of 30 percent participation approved by the Economic and Social Council has not been achieved anywhere.
